If you sell stuff what to do with cash?

[Mark Stewart]

Not that I am selling anything these days but if you did what do you do with the cash, I have decided to (shhhh its a secret from my wife) take the money if I sell something and place it into an account. I have decided to take a pilgrimage to "burning Man" Its a festivall in the AZ desert this time of year. I will only need about 3000.00:swoon:Thats about 150 bottel stoppers. I should be there by the time im 65 or 70 So what dreams do you have?

 

[RickC]

My dream is an early retirement, and then supplement my income with some craft show type things. ie built along the lines of small boxes and scroll saw items. I'll need to experiment with pricing to find the that "impulse" buy amount.

The small town where I will be spending my summers conducts a farmer's market and allows "vendors" to set up for free. It should give me a little cash each week, a chance to meet and visit with folks in the area and out of my wife's hair for a while. Especially important if she needs to work a while longer than I!!:gar-Bi

 

[Rob]

More tools

 

[Trent Mason]

Interesting question. Anything that I've sold so far has gone toward putting food on the table. That being said, I'd prefer that if I do sell anything in the future, to put the money toward shop upgrades, but ultimately, I'd like to do woodworking strictly as a hobby and just give everything away. That's when I get the most enjoyment out of it.

 

[Kenderc]

People can make money from woodworking? Get out! haha. My end results are no where near the level required for me to ask money for them. Not sure what I would do with the profits...I'm afraid to dream about it and disappoint myself.

 

[Mark Stewart]

Well you'd be suprised youll be selling things before you know it. Thanks for the input guys I just wanted some feedback on this.
Have a great day all
Thanks Mark

 

[cpw]

Suggestions:
1) Spread it out on the floor and roll in it.
2) Use it to even out the dip in your mattress.
3) Lottery tickets.
4) Toilet paper substitute.
5) Bonfire.

Seriously though. Doesn't cash exist so that you can buy more tools without going through the budget committee and sneak them into the shop undetected?

 

[Rob]

Doesn't cash exist so that you can buy more tools without going through the budget committee and sneak them into the shop undetected?

Nope, the wife and I have a deal, if I sell something I made, or sell one of my tools, the money is re-invested into the shop. I have a pretty cool wife. ccasion1

 

[sawduster]

Nope, the wife and I have a deal, if I sell something I made, or sell one of my tools, the money is re-invested into the shop. I have a pretty cool wife. ccasion1

I share your kewl-ness :mrgreen: The Shoppe Widow is like that too :icon_thum Any money I make ( rare ) goes into my "tool fund" so I can jump on a good deal when the time is right
Problem is I give away way more than i sell :embaresse

I'm like Trent .......spirtual compensation can often be much more rewarding :icon_thum

 

[CarvedTones]

I have the same deal - if money actually comes in for shop goods, it can be used for shop expenses. I have sold the odd thing here and there, but never for very much yet. Even if I am able to semi-retire making things for sale, I will probably never get all that far into the black.

 

[Dragon]

Well, you asked, right? My dream, (kinda like winning the pottery too), is to get good enough to retire early and market some of my creations like I've seen on the net. Some of the prices I've seen on a simple sanded and poly'ed log are amazing. Only question I have is, "Do they actually sell:dontknow: for those prices?" If so then I can retire now. Well, after about two more years of sanding and applying poly to a bunch of logs.

Seriously though, any money I've made usually goes into the household funds and "we" decide "together" what it gets spent on. I've got an amazing wife who really loves my work, (or is a dang great story spinner), and has no issues with me coming in covered in sawdust and bar oil.

 

[DaveD]

Mine goes anywhere EXCEPT household funds. It may end up being spent on the 'household' but that is my choice. How much is in the fund is not general knowledge. Sometimes its 0$ and other times it can be a few thousand. I've been at this for about 40 years. Over the years it's funded 2 weeks at Daytona Speed weeks, lots of 'racing' weekends with my son, cheap/expensive tools, and a couple of good family vacations. Throw in a 'couple' of cases of cold beer in there too. :wsmile::wsmile:

 

[zapdafish]

More tools

:thumbs_up

 

[junquecol]

I'm in a unique position, that I make a living using my hands and brains (I'm self employed.) If I had any brains, I would be working for someone else. Just today, a client told me I wouldn't get paid for a while, as they were short on funds right now. So now I'm short on funds. But when I do make some money, I squander it on things like insurance, power bill, property taxes, medical expenses, food, etc. Because I use my tools to make a living, I do get to buy tools regularly (eat your heart out!) LOML now understands that certain things have to be bought, and in duplicate. That is in case one fails, we are still able to finish the job. Once my FIL told me I was the only person who had a saw for each end of the board. I reminded him how much time ($$$$$) I saved not having to constantly walk to the other end of the board to get the saw. Back in 1984, I went to Sears one day and bought a table saw, band saw, radial arm saw, and drill press, for a total of about $1300. In the next week, we made enough styrafoam letters to pay for all those tools. Then we paid for a Buick making these letters. I'm known as the guy who has two of everything, including wives:rotflm:. (I was married to my son's mother before I met my wife (32+ years now), so I have had two wives.)

 

[McRabbet]

I've done about a dozen commissions in the past 4 years and after paying taxes on the proceeds, I have reinvested the profits into new tools, accessories or materials for shop upgrades or have paid essential bills. One advantage of the process was being able to take depreciation on capital expenditures and thus reducing the taxes. After one major commission, I was able to buy an 8" spiral head jointer and took full depreciation when I paid my taxes that year and it reduced the tax burden substantially. In some years, my profits were so low they did not impact my tax bill at all.

 

[ErnieM]

This money can only lead to trouble. Trouble with the tax man - trouble with the wife etc. Just put it in a plain, brown envelope and mail it to me. I'll dispose of it for you!:gar-Bi

Ernie

 

[SubGuy]

I don't sell tools, but I have given a few away. I don't sell my work (to the public that is), I take only commission and only from friends and family and only at cost (and more often than not less than cost). Soooo.....whenever I actually sell something that can make money, I'll use it to buy more wood and tools.